let me be your everlastig light
by The Cinder Crown
Summary: Astoria carefully put her arms around Scorpius and tried to give her son a brave smile. "If you ask me… I'd say that life's like a fairytale. And every fairytale needs a good old-fashioned villain. The only difference is that in the end of our story the villain is called death."
1. The Curse in the Beginning

**Written for the Year Long Scavenger Hunt: Use another participant's favourite Quote as an Inspiration:**

 **E.10:** Write a multiple chapter story using another participant's favourite quote as inspiration. 'Every fairytale needs a good old-fashioned villain.' (Mycroft-Mione's)

* * *

The Curse in the Beginning

* * *

 _Somewhere a very long time ago…_

 _The air was freezing in the dark cold winter's night. Apart from some occasional lights that turned on once in a while, the whole alley was covered in darkness. But it didn't matter._

 _The woman ran. She ran as fast as she possibly could. She looked around; left and right, then turned a corner and stopped only for a short moment to catch her breath. She leaned against the stone wall of an old house and looked down her body, already knowing what she was about to see. More and more blood spilled from the open wound on her leg and it certainly didn't look like it would stop anytime soon._

 _The ebony haired woman grabbed one side of her, by now dirty and worn down, robe then she tore a small slice of cloth away and wrapped it tightly and as good as possible around her leg; desperately trying to stop the blood from escaping her body. It fulfilled its purpose, though it would only last for a short amount of the, she supposed._

 _Now she really wished that her wand had not been broken during the attack. She could still feel the two halves of wood that had been quickly stuffed in one of the pockets of her dark blue robe._

 _She took a deep breath and looked carefully around once more. Every single muscle in her body hurt and she was tired beyond exhaustion. But the young widow didn't have a choice. He had already killed her husband in pure bloodlust. Her beloved had managed to give her a little head start, but she had to keep on running or his sacrifice would be completely in vain, since she knew the other man was driven by revenge and nothing would stop him from coming after the ebony haired witch and her unborn child._

 _The thought of protecting her beloved child gave her a little more strength and despite her limp, she pushed herself up from the wall again and kept on running. Straight ahead, then a left turn, straight forward again, another left corner followed by a right one._

 _She was about to turn once more when she heard the fateful words that were shouted from somewhere behind her._

" _Incarcerous!"_

 _The strong rope immediately wrapped tightly around her ankles, causing the ebony haired witch to fall flat on the hard ground._

 _The dark, male voice behind her laughed and she heard footsteps coming closer and closer. Her heart jumped into her throat, and despite her best efforts to keep her pain and fear in check, tears started to form in her grey eyes._

" _Did you really think you could escape from me, Anastasia?" The man asked angry._

 _He came even closer now, bent down and grabbed a part of her robe; forcefully turning the tied up woman around._

" _After everything you have done?" the black man whispered into her ear in a dangerously low voice. "We could have lived happily ever after. But you just had to ruin it, didn't you?"_

 _He spat her in the face. She tried with all her might not to show her fear, but she knew that her body was shaking heavily._

" _Your father had promised you to me!" He shouted, bristling with anger now. "Do you hear that? To me! You were supposed to love me! Not Greengrass!"_

 _He bent down once more and grabbed her hair, forcing the young woman to look him into his furious black eyes._

" _I could never love someone like you!" The young widow answered bravely and as loud as she possibly could. "And I will never belong to you! I'd rather die than marry a monster like you!"_

 _The man threw her back to the ground and kicked her with his foot._

 _Anastasia cried out in pain and the tears that had started to form earlier now flowed freely down her cheeks._

" _Believe me, you will die for what you did. Painfully and in the most cruel way possible." The man laughed darkly before pointing his wand at the beaten and defenseless woman in front of him._

" _And so will generations of women after you! They shall be cursed for all eternity! Filiamors ad eternitas!"_

 _The curse was cast and Anastasia Greengrass cried out in pure agony before everything went black._


	2. The Sisters in the Life

The Sisters in the Life

* * *

"Tori, what are you doing here at this hour?"

The small ebony haired girl turned her attention away from the door in front of her and looked at her older sister, fumbling nervously with her nightgown.

"I'm standing in front of Mummy's door, Daphne." The little girl explained rather simply, much to the bond girl's annoyance.

"I can see that," Daphne Greengrass said, "The question however, is why? It's already past your bedtime."

The little girl slowly held up the old, leather bound book in her hand and showed it to her sister.

"The tale of the three brothers?" The elder Greengrass girl asked in confusion, but smiled nonetheless. "What are you doing with that, Astoria? Mother must have read that story to you at least a thousand of times already."

"I was hoping Mummy could read it to me again…" Astoria said in a small, slightly embarrassed voice. "It helps me sleep better."

The little girl watched as a small frown washed over her sister's face before her expression settled on a sad smile.

"Tori," Daphne began and softly touched her little sister's hand. "The thing is that mother's not feeling very well these days."

Astoria's eyes widened. "Mummy is sick again?"

Daphne sighed and looked at the eleven year old. "Yes. I'm afraid she is…"

"But she will get better again soon, right Nee?" The ebony haired witch asked and tears started to well up in her eyes.

Daphne's heart broke a little every time she had to answer this question. Her mother has been sick a lot, though Daphne wasn't exactly sure of the reason. All they could do was hope for the best. "I don't know, Tori…" she finally answered truthfully, "We must not lose hope. But right now she is very exhausted and needs a lot of rest."

"I understand," Astoria whispered. She obviously tried hard to hide her disappointment and put on a brave face. But Daphne saw her quivering lip and the way her eyes started to tear up again.

"What would you say if I read the story to you?" Daphne suggested kindly.

Astoria looked up with hope shining in her big brown eyes. "You would really do that?"

Daphne smiled at the little display of happiness. "I do. Now come here."

"Thank you, Daphne!" The little girl smiled and jumped into her older sister's open arms and put her own tiny hands around her neck.

When Daphne picked her up, she immediately frowned. Astoria had always been small, but Daphne just recognized that she wasn't nearly as tall or heavy as all the other eleven-year-olds she had seen at Hogwarts. Luckily the little girl in her arms was too happy about being read a story that she didn't pay any attention.

The elder Greengrass girl however was alarmingly concerned now. She would have to talk about Astoria's condition to her father. She feared that whatever illness her mother had, Astoria had inherited the same. Walking up the stairs to the little girl's bedroom, Daphne tightened her arms around her, desperately hoping Astoria was fine.


	3. The Sacrifice in the Love

The Sacrifice in the Love

* * *

"I want to have a child, Draco." Astoria looked at her husband pleadingly. "Don't you?"

He was standing at the edge of the lake, the small waves already starting to wet his shoes.

When he finally turned around Astoria was shocked to see the tears in his eyes. "I love you," he whispered. "I couldn't wish for more."

Tori placed her small hand into his bigger one. "I love you, too. But I know that – despite what you say - you would love a child of your own, too."

He looked into her big brown eyes. "I don't care if the Malfoy line ends with me, Astoria. I cannot risk losing you."

She smiled gently at him and kissed him on the cheek. "Who says you're going to lose me?"

"You told me about your ancestor's curse, remember," he whispered and watched as immediately a shadow flashed over his wife's face.

Astoria sighed. "You cannot read the end before the story is written, Draco."

"Perhaps," Draco answered in a deeply emotional voice. "But the curse skipped your sister. It will cause you to be affected at least twice as bad as your mother was. Probably even worse than your ancestor Anastasia.,,,"

"I'll be alright," the witch tried to sound reassuringly.

Draco shook his head. "You're already weaker than you should be. Giving birth to a child will most likely kill you."

Astoria sighed and tears welled up in her eyes as well. "It might kill me, yes, but it might not. I will die sooner than everyone else," she said and tightened her grip on her husband's hand. "But I'm not afraid of death."

"But I'm afraid _for_ you," Draco said and put his arms around her as tightly as he possibly could. "The curse is destined to kill in the most painful way possible."

Astoria smiled gently and wiped the tear away that had rolled down his cheek. "I know. But it will be painful either way, Draco," she said in a whisper. "I want to live the life I have left. And I want to live it with _you._ "

She softly lifted his chin to make him look into her eyes. Despite her best efforts a lonely tear fell from her eyes. "I want to be a mother. I want to have a child so you won't be alone when I'm gone. So you have a reason to love again."

"Please, don't…" his voice failed him.

"We both know that I don't have much time left, my love," Astoria whispered and lovingly cupped his face with both her hands, "Why not life the happily ever after that we have always dreamed of?"

"I would like that. But sadly there's no happily ever after without you," he whispered and the emotion in his voice made the ebony haired witch swallow hard.


	4. The Villain in the Story

The Villain in the Story

* * *

"And they lived happily ever after." Astoria finished reading the muggle fairytale, although struggling to repress the urge to cough heavily.

"That's the end?" Scorpius asked his mother confused.

"Didn't you like it, Scorpius?" Draco asked from the other side of the room.

He watched the little scene with a small smile, though inside his heart was aching with pain. Astoria's condition had worsened rapidly in the last couple of weeks. Her former ivory skin was now ashy pale and her beautiful brown eyes had lost their sparkle. She had always had a slim figure, but she had lost such an enormous amount of weight that by now almost every bone of her body was visible.

The curse had taken its toll on her and these days she wasn't even strong enough to sit up on her own anymore.

They all knew her time had come and that she'd probably only last a couple of more hours, maybe less. Astoria's last wish was to see their son one last time, and read him a story like she had done for all his life. She wanted him to remember her as the strong woman he had grown up with and looked up to, not the fragile witch the curse had turned her into. Therefore Draco had – upon her wish - positioned half a dozen pillows in the queen size bed and gently helped his wife up so she could rest as comfortably as possible and called Scorpius to see his mother one last time.

"No, I like it," Scorpius assured his father, who smiled sadly when he saw him snuggle closer into his mother's arms. "I- I just… I was thinking and…" He started and looked sadly at his mother. "Why is it that in real life all the good people have to die?"

Draco saw his wife cringe and, despite himself, he gave her a look that clearly said 'I told you so.' He hadn't been comfortable with Scorpius choosing that particular story, but Astoria had promised him she would read any story he wished to hear. However, she probably hadn't considered the similarities of the Cinderella story to her own situation.

Astoria carefully put her arms around Scorpius and tried to give her son a brave smile, but Draco could see that exhaustion was already beginning to get the better of her. "I'd say that in a way the real life's like a fairytale, too. And I'm sure you know that every fairytale needs a good old-fashioned villain. The only difference is that the villain in our story is called death," she explained, skilfully playing around the main topic without lying, though her voice was a little unsteady.

Draco held his breath as Scorpius seemed to process his mother's words.

"Does this mean you are like the princess fighting the villain, mum?" he asked and looked from his mother to his father and back to the ebony haired witch.

Draco smiled sadly and was about to confirm his son's suspicion, when he heard his wife's weak voice once more.

"Yes, I think that's exactly what it means. Well, apart from the fact that, considering my age, I'd rather say that I'm the Queen in the story instead of the Princess."

Draco winced when she was interrupted by several coughs and leaned heavily back against her pillows, trying to get her breathing back to normal again.

"But, but I know you're dying, mother," Scorpius said suddenly to both his parents' horror and a tear rolled down his cheek. "So the villain wins."

"Oh, Scorpius. Let me tell you one thing. And I need you to promise me that you will always remember it."

Scorpius nodded and cuddled even closer to his mother.

"Death never wins." Astoria whispered, and looked at her husband before wiping away her son's tears and softly brushing her fingers through his hair. "And do you know why? Because I have you."

"Me?" the young Slytherin asked confused.

"Of course. You are the little prince in our story and you protect and keep me alive," Astoria said softly. "Because even though you won't be able to see me anymore, I will always be here with you…"

She smiled and pointed with a shaky hand towards his chest. "Right here, in your heart."

"And in dad's, too?"

Astoria nodded and chuckled softly. "Yes, and in your father's heart, too."


	5. The Death in the End

The Death in the End

* * *

 _In the end of that fateful night Scorpius' had stayed with his mother until he fell asleep. Astoria, with tears streaming down her cheeks and barely able to gather the little bit that was left of her remaining strength, kissed her son good-bye for one last time, before Draco carefully carried the sleeping boy to his room._

 _In the end of that fateful night, Astoria tried to be strong and fight the agonizing pain that shot through her body like several crutiatus curses at once. At some point she even started to cough up blood. But Draco had stayed with her the whole time, holding his dying wife securely wrapped in his arms, whispering words of comforting nonsense into her ear._

 _In the end of that fateful night, her breaths slowly got shallower and with her last resorts she slightly turned her head to look at her husband. Despite all the pain she had endured, despite all the tears that had been spilled and despite all the cruelty the curse had brought her, her brown eyes were shining with undying love. "It's time, Draco," she whispered with tears in her eyes, "Remember my love."_

 _In the end of that fateful night, Draco cupped his wife's face with his shaking hands, purred all his love in their last kiss and looked her in her beautiful brown eyes one last time before they would close forever, only to whisper a single, meaningful, last word to her: "Always."_

 _In the end of that fateful night, Astoria remembered the story her mother had always read to her. She remembered the love she had experienced in her life. She remembered that there was no need to be afraid of death. And she remembered that in the end of the story, the third brother, like herself, had been awaiting the Death in the end for quite some time already, and therefore greeted him like an old friend._

 _In the end of that fateful night, Astoria would do the same._


End file.
